May all acquaintances never be forgot

I have been in London this past week and was able to connect with some long-time colleagues (some I have not seen in over three years). All are doing well and all are at new companies (one starting his own business). It is amazing that when you catch up with people, they have improved their situation (whether personally, financially, living where they want to live, doing something different that they always wanted to do, etc.) So there is hope for all of us, we just don't realize it.

It was interesting that most of the conversations were about the present and future. Little was discussed about the "good old days". Yes, there were questions around "hey how is so and so doing" or "remember that time when . . .".

The point of this post is that as a leader, I am proud how people continue to grow in business and their personal life. People that maybe I had a very small part in helping them along as a colleague/leader. I know, they no longer report to me but we had established a relationship that was more than a boss to subordinate but one is based upon mutual respect that continued over time. It seems when you work together accomplishing great things, you do create a bond that is difficult to be broken.

Yes, I have angered people in the past and might not have always made the right decisions, but it is nice to see that people respond to my email to have a drink and catch up after so many years. As a leader, I do my best to treat people with dignity and respect and it is a pleasure to catch up with old colleagues and hearing about their new adventures. Building a network is important and the best network is the one that is filled with people I have worked with. So, if you want to improve your network, reach out to an old colleague today (right now) and reconnect via email, text message, facebook, linkedIN, etc, you will be glad you did!